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User blog:Rando07/Summer 2015 Sets + Other Updates
Since the new Summer 2015 sets are available in the UK at the moment, I decided to purchase Mask Maker vs Skull Grinder and Skull Basher. They're surprisingly good sets, honestly. I actually find them better than the images show. Skull Grinder was particularly fun to build, and despite the weight of his weapon I didn't experience much of a problem with the movement of his arms (eat your heart out, JANGBRICKS). Parcelwoo.JPG SetBoxes.JPG Anyway, without further ado, some pictures of the building process for two of the new sets! Skull Basher SBasherBox.JPG SBasher01.JPG SBasher02.JPG SBasher03.JPG SBasher04.JPG SBasher05.JPG SBasher06.JPG SBasher07.JPG|This is a very interesting mechanism, nothing like I've seen before SBasher08.JPG SBasher09.JPG SBasher10.JPG SBasher11.JPG SBasher12.JPG SBasher13.JPG SBasher14.JPG SBasher15.JPG SBasher16.JPG SBasher17.JPG|These purple horns are amazing SBasher18.JPG SBasher19.JPG SBasher20.JPG SBasherSpares.JPG|Only 2 spare pieces included in this set SBasherTysion.JPG|He's pretty small He's honestly a lot smaller than I expected, as shown by the comparison with Tysion in the slideshow above. However, that's not much of a criticism since his size fits the average for the new wave. I really like the inclusion of purple in this sets, which provides people with a lot more MOCing options. The large horns and smaller spike pieces will be particularly useful. I've never really been a fan of the stickers on some pieces, and this guy is no exception. The colours on the sticker itself don't actually match the colour scheme of the set (which is great, by the way). So the sticker's a bit of a distraction more than anything. His weapons are pretty cool. Nothing particularly outstanding, but they are nice. Skull Basher's overall look is fantastic. You really get the sense that he is some kind of undead minotaur. The use of his horns and the spread of the armour around his body really help to emphasise that feeling, which is something that I honestly wasn't expecting when I began building him. He's generally quite stable, though the funky mechanism does weigh quite a bit and makes him somewhat top-heavy. Since the surface area of the foot piece that actually touches the ground is quite small, he's easily knocked off balance. To counteract this problem I just pose him with his arms forward. Speaking of the mechanism, it's quite strange in the way it works. The movement of the arms is fairly irregular, but I do quite like it. Overall, I'd give this guy a 7.5/10. Mask Maker vs Skull Grinder So as we all know, the set is composed of two figures: Ekimu and Kulta. Ekimu/Mask Maker SGrindervEkimu01.JPG Ekimu01.JPG Ekimu02.JPG Ekimu03.JPG Ekimu04.JPG Ekimu05.JPG Ekimu06.JPG Ekimu07.JPG Ekimu08.JPG Ekimu09.JPG Ekimu10.JPG Ekimu11.JPG Ekimu12.JPG Ekimu13.JPG Ekimu14.JPG Ekimu15.JPG|I love this thing Ekimu16.JPG Ekimu17.JPG Ekimu18.JPG Ekimu19.JPG|His hammer/gun thing, very Nora Valkyrie-like (kudos if you know what I'm talking about) Ekimu20.JPG I was really looking forward to purchasing this set because I did really like the look of Ekimu. However, upon building him I did lose the interest I initially had in this set. I say this because he is basically just a golden protector. Needless to say, he's still pretty decent. I don't dislike the protector build, but don't overly like it either. As stated already, I love his shield. The patterned cover for the circular saw piece is particularly nice. The hammer/gun is also neat. It definitely reminds me of a certain something mentioned above. I'm particularly fond of the trans-light blue pieces more than anything. My favourite part of this figure is the colour scheme. Ekimu gets a score of 7/10 from me. Kulta/Skull Grinder SGrinder01.JPG SGrinder02.JPG SGrinder03.JPG SGrinder04.JPG SGrinder05.JPG SGrinder06.JPG SGrinder07.JPG|This actually looks like a hammer SGrinder08.JPG SGrinder09.JPG SGrinder10.JPG SGrinder11.JPG SGrinder12.JPG SGrinder13.JPG SGrinder14.JPG SGrinder15.JPG SGrinder16.JPG SGrinder17.JPG|He's back as a BIONICLE! SGrinder18.JPG|It may be heavy, but he can hold it up SGvsESpares.JPG|Spares for both figures So, Skull Grinder. I'm not exactly sure what he is suppose to be, but I like whatever it is. As with Skull Basher, the skeletal look really comes through, particularly with the use of those bone pieces that actually look like bones. The Terminator-esque mask is definitely my favourite part of this set. It just looks great. Definitely a lot of MOCing potential for that piece. He's honestly not that different from Skull Basher in terms of structure. The armour pieces are identical except in colour. However, that is to be expected of sets in the same wave. Regardless, Skull Grinder is a great figure. In terms of stability he's quite sturdy, though suffers from the same problem as Skull Basher in that he's top heavy. Again, the low surface area of the foot doesn't help here, and the fact that his right side is much heavier due to the weapon also leaves him off balance. In spite of this, he's still relatively easy to pose. I like his large weapon, though it does strike me as too big. The other weapon also just seems like something added on to give his left hand something to hold, but it looks good. As encountered by others, his gear function is like that of the masters, but suffers due to the weight of his weapon and weakness of the shoulder connection. But, I didn't encounter much of a problem with holding his arm up or anything. Overall, I'd give Skull Grinder a score of 8/10, while the set consisting of both figures receives a score of 7.5/10. Also, the Mask of Creation is awesome. Looks even better than on my birthday cake. :P MaskofCreation.JPG| MMakervsSGrinder.JPG| Reller does like the look of it, though. What do you think? RellerMoC1.JPG RellerMoC2.JPG RellerMoC3.JPG And now for some height comparisons. Other stuff Congratulations for making it this far. Anyway, I've got some updates for you concerning my storyline's status. After finishing my exams on the 17th of June, summer began for me. So far it's been surprisingly busy since my last year of school also finished. But you should know that I have started working on Felony again. Due to my sporadic activity because of exams, my creativity has become somewhat limited. My ability to write full, descriptive passages needs work, so I will not be posting what I have for Felony's latest chapter until I believe it is at least up to the standard I set myself with To Ascend. This "creativity drain" has also impacted my MOCing. Coming up with good designs and looks that I feel capture the essence of my characters has been more difficult. So my MOCing also needs work. I won't be posting anything until I'm satisfied with how it's turned out. But in my new free time I will be working on my writing, MOCing, and also my YouTube channel. Though not as much so in the past, I am still committed to remaining within the BIONICLE community as much as I can. As a result, you can expect some more BIONICLE-related material on my channel as soon as I can acquire a tripod. Some of this material would include reviews, such as of the new sets and even my MOCs. What do you guys think of the idea? Reviews? MOCs and sets Just MOCs Just sets Don't do it, pls So to summarise: *The new sets are cool (well, most of them) *I'm working on my MOCing and writing *YouTube stuff is also in the works Also, happy 4th of July to you Americans out there! If you have any questions then please ask in the comments below. Thanks for reading! —[[User:Rando07|'Rando']][[User talk:RandoMaster07|'07']] 15:36, July 4, 2015 (UTC) Category:Blog posts